Pre-E3 2005: The Warriors: From Film to Game

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The movie's history, new screenshots, and a peek at what's ahead.

By Jeremy Dunham

With its first booth at E3 in years (South Hall #324), Rockstar Games should be able to come back swinging with a lineup of software that includes the newly announced schoolyard game Bully, a PSP version of Midnight Club 3, the Xbox and PC ports of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the videogame remake of 1979's cult hit The Warriors. In fact, it's The Warriors in particular that is the company's greatest mystery. First announced in 2002 when Rockstar simultaneously revealed that Barking Dog Studios had become Rockstar Vancouver and that the previously-named Rockstar Canada had become Rockstar Toronto, The Warriors has been in quiet development ever since. Gameplay details, licensing questions, and various other queries have been secrets without answers.

Unfortunately for us, those details are still being kept under wraps and all we know about the game so far is that it will feature an enormous open-level structure and that it will be a beat 'em up in the same vein as classic 8 and 16-bit titles like River City Ransom, Streets of Rage, and Final Fight. Beyond that, however, we know little else about it (except that the videogame will follow the movie's plot rather closely and that the characters can accrue various injuries as they progress).

As a precursor to what Rockstar has in store for gamers down the line, however, it has teamed up with your buds here at IGN to give unfamiliar gamers an idea of why it went after The Warriors license in the first place, and what kind of effect it's had on popular culture, movies, and other forms of entertainment since first debuting in 1979. And to keep it on topic and completely videogame-oriented, we've even added a couple of never before seen hi-res screenshots to our image gallery as well. You can't beat that!

So sit back, relax, grab a soda, and prepare to learn about the history of The Warriors. And if you pay enough attention you might even spot a couple of hints as to what you can expect from the videogame version later this year:

The Setup For the real fans out there, The Warriors is a lot more than a badass movie. Since its theatrical release in 1979, Walter Hill's New York gang opus has made a deep-seated mark on urban culture as we know it today. Not just another random movie, The Warriors marked a moment of caution and fear at the end of 70s. By 1979, New York City, along with most large US urban zones, were considered hopeless crime zones that were ruled by youth gangs.

Since considered a true cult classic, The Warriors is fervently supported by movie purists and general cinema lovers. Shot on location on the backstreets of New York, the gritty cinematography captured the neighborhoods for what they were at the time -- from its deserted alleyways to its wide streets and grimy subways, NYC was not a safe place to live. Directors John Woo and Quentin Tarantino both have praised The Warriors as a prototypical New York film. And it's always been rumored that for years Eddie Vedder had Luther's classic line "Waaarrriors, come out to plaaaaaaay" on his answering machine. Even Shaquille O'Neal and Method Man have admitted, The Warriors is for movie lovers.

In the time since, the main themes of the The Warriors like allegiance, trust and street survival have saturated all areas of pop culture including movies, music, fashion, art, and later this year, videogames.

The Film Impending war hits New York City when The Warriors are wrongly accused of killing the leader of the Riffs (and biggest gang in the city), named Cyrus. In order to survive, the Warriors must make their way from the Bronx back home to Coney Island. Between them and safety are 20 miles and 60,000 gang members. The streets are owned by these armies of the night and there's no turning back -- the Warriors must fight for their lives as danger lurks around every corner.

Its original 1979 release, The Warriors has spawned a throng of fans and a steady stream of imitators. It became a big word-of-mouth success among the younger crowd (much like Star Wars did) and debuted at number one at the box office. Hundreds of kids and teens attended the matinee premier in Times Square, and within five years, fans were dressing up like characters from the film for midnight movie screenings of The Warriors all over the world.

Countless showings on cable and years rentals had given The Warriors a lasting place in American cinematic history (as well as pop culture) by exposing an entire generation to the realities of gang life. There are Warriors theme parties and collectors hunt reproduced action figures on eBay and other auction sites. Thousands of people have even invaded the internet to prevent a potential remake from ever being made. It's true!